Week of May 29th - June 5th | Project Reflection

Congratulations IDEAS community! This spring's Exhibitions of Learning have featured some of the most thought-provoking, innovative projects that we have seen. There are few places on earth where young people get to shape their learning and making in the ways you do, and we are encouraged by your deep thinking about your work and your personal growth. Thank you for telling those stories through your exhibitions. We know that this is challenging, and we want you to be able to take those challenges and successes with you as you move on to new projects and new thinking. For this reason, we will spend the next week focused on reflection. 

COMMUNITY REFLECTION
On Friday, May 29th we will return to our disciplinary project groups and reflect on the Exhibitions of Learning experience as a whole.

Gathering: Please begin with the following prompts and plenty of think time prior to sharing.

• THINK > Describe a project exhibition that you think embodies what IDEAS Block is all about. Explain your choice.
• PUZZLE > Describe a project exhibition that raised important academic, creative, or other questions for you personally. Explain your choice.
• EXPLORE > Describe a project exhibition that makes you want to explore something new about an idea, an art form, or something else. Explain your choice. 

Compass Points: Please capture and share this with Molly and Kim when your group is finished.

• EXCITED > What excited or energized you throughout Exhibitions of Learning? What do you appreciate about the process?
• NEW > What was new about this semester's Exhibitions of Learning? How did these new things affect Exhibitions of Learning as a whole?
• WORRIES > What worried or concerned you about planning, preparation, execution of Exhibitions of Learning this semester? 
• SUGGESTIONS > What suggestions do you have for next semester/year's Exhibitions of Learning?

PERSONAL REFLECTION
Each individual student will engage in a formal reflection about their own project and habits this semester. This process has three distinct parts:

• Review the feedback sheets completed by your peers and the rubrics completed by staff members. In doing this, use three colors to highlight what you see: Use one color to highlight areas that you CONNECT with or agree with. Use another color to highlight areas that EXTEND your thinking about your project or yourself. Use a third color to high light areas that CHALLENGE your thinking about your project.  Write your own notes on these feedback forms, so that you can keep track of your thinking. (NOTE: While not required, it is recommended that you do this prior to the other steps.)
• Write the formal reflection essay for this semester. Please take time to review the assignment on the language arts website, organize your thinking, be honest with yourself, and write the essay. Outline. (NOTE: This is due June 5th.)
• Conference with your advisor to review the details and annotations on your rubrics, to discuss opportunities for and experiences of growth, to expose and distill all that you accomplished through your project and exhibition. 

DON'T FORGET!
Support your creative colleagues.

• Friday, May 29th - 4:00pm & 6:00pm - Theater Production Club and "Last Sunday" Exhibition at Paradigm Annex. Tickets are $2.00
• Friday, June 5th - 4:00pm - Film exhibitions in the Drama Room at IDEAS Academy

Week of May 18 - 20th | Preparation for Exhibitions

We are a week away from the exhibitions that culminate the thinking, questioning, experimenting, creating, and realizing of project block. Let's take a moment to appreciate that we have, in our story of learning, the opportunity to design and live in our own projects for over an hour every day (and even more when we need or want to). So awesome! Peers, staff, and community members are proud of the process each project entails and look forward to seeing how each individual/group chooses to reveal their learning to an audience. Thank you for being part of this creative, intellectual community!

THIS WEEK

Monday - Rehearsals
Tuesday - Rehearsals
Wednesday - Rehearsals (+ Town Hall review of EoL HoPs)
Thursday - Tweak and Practice
Friday - No school

NEXT WEEK

Monday - No school
(Need something? Plan ahead!)
Tuesday - Exhibitions 10:00am - 6:00pm
(See schedule for details. Gallery set up is at 8:00am. SASD Teacher Award at South 6:30pm.)
Wednesday - Exhibitions at school 8:00am-9:00am
(See schedule for details.)
Thursday - Exhibitions 2:00pm - 8:00pm
(See schedule for details.)
Friday - Reflection & Exhibition at Paradigm Theater Annex 4:00pm and 6:00pm

.......

Here are the details to help get you through the week. If there are any inconsistencies below, please email kjohnson@etudegroup.org AND mking@etudegroup.org as soon as you notice them.

EXHIBITION PRESENTATION

1. Plan
2. Practice
3. Seek and use feedback to improve
4. Revise
5. Practice
6. Practice

REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

1. Confirm your rehearsal time and place
2. Note your required and planned audience times and places
3. Questions? Ask Molly!

SPRING EXHIBITION AND VOLUNTEER SCHEDULE

1. Confirm your exhibition time and place
2. Sign up to volunteer
3. Sign up for roundtables
4. Create a schedule for yourself of where you will be and when throughout EoLs
5. Need help? Ask a friend, your advisor, your project advisor!

Week of May 11th - May 14th | Exhibition Workshops & Professional Model

Since projects were due last Friday, this week is designed to support your preparation for Exhibitions of Learning on May 26th and 28th. Particular emphasis will be on planning and practicing your Exhibition, however there will be some time to tweak projects and revise Artist Statements.

EXHIBITION WORKSHOPS:

Presentation Skills Workshop : Peter & Mike
(Stage Presence, Timing, Mics/Tech)

Presentation Outline Workshop : Kim & Addie
(Content, Organization, Engagement)

Roundtable Facilitation Workshop : Tim

(Content, Organization, Engagement, Materials)

Year - Long Projects : Molly

(All the things!)

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE:

Monday @ 10:05am
Peter - Your group with Drew's in Drew's Room

Mike - Your group with Molly's in your room

Addie - Stuart and Dan's groups in Dan's Room

Kim - Liz and Tim's group in Liz's room

Molly - Year-long in dance studio

Tuesday @ 10:05am

Peter - Stuart and Dan's groups in Drew's Room

Mike - Liz and Tim's groups in Liz's Room

Addie - Peter and Drew's group in Drew's Dan's Room

Kim - Mike and Molly's group in Mike's Room

Tim - Roundtables in Tim's Room

ARTIST STATEMENTS:

Please schedule time to meet with Addie, revise your Artist Statements for publication.

THURSDAY | LOUDER THAN A BOMB:

On Thursday, we will be viewing "Louder Than a Bomb" at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. This documentary tells the story of high school spoken word poets in the Chicago area. The screening of this film is the beginning of a residency, and we look forward to opportunities to work with some of these writers in the fall.